Electric railway.



No. 684,596. Patented Oct. I5, IQOI. B. BIDWEL'L. ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

(Application filed Aug. 14. 18841) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

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No. 684,596. Patented Dot. l5, 19m. V B. BIDWELL.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

(Application filed Aug. 14, 1884.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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No. 684,596. Patented Oct. l5, I901. B. BIDWELL.

ELECTBIG RAILWAY.

(Application filecfi Aug. 14. 1884.)

3 Sheats-Sheet 3,

(No Model.)

. WITNESSES @Mmu [NVENTORI W ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENSON BIDWVELL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- I-IALF TO CHARLES F. BIDWELL, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 684,596, dated October 15, 1901.

Application filed August 14, 1884. Serial No. 140,514. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern; also capable of a lateral motion whereby they Be it known that I, BENSON BIDWELL, a citiautomatically maintain thoircon tact with the zen of the United States, residing at Philadelline conductors when the car vibrates vertiphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State cally or sways to and fro laterally; to provide of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new for reversing the direction of travel of the car; 55

and useful Improvements in Electric Railto utilize the electric motor on the car for a ways, of which the following is a specification, brake mechanism; to provide a circuit changreference being had therein to the accompaing or reversingswitch for said electric motor, nying drawings, wherein which switch also serves as an ordinary make- Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section of and-break switch for the motor-circuit; to pro- 60 a car and railway equipped with my improvevide for mechanically switching the contactments. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal broken secbrushes to and from a main line to sidings tion of the same. Fig. 3 is an end view, partly or branch lines to electric conductors, and, sectional, of a tubular conductor and a confinally, to provide crossinglines of conductors I5 tact brush or wheel. Fig. 4: is a side view, so arranged that the contact-brushes of each 65 partlyin section, of the brush or wheel. Fig. can pass by the crossing conductors without 5 is an end view showing attachment of the necessitating unshipping of the brushes from conductors to the longitudinal sleepers or bedthe cond uctors. rail for thetracks. Fig. 6 is alike View illus- My invention accordingly consists of the trating such attachment to the guard-rail for combination, construction, andarrangement 70 the tracks. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section of of parts,ashereinafterdescribed and claimed, theconductor-switchormovablesection. Fig. having reference particularly, first, to slot- 8 is a plan showing the application of such ted tubular conductors composed of pipe-secswitch to a system of railways equipped with tions so connected to the longitudinal sleepthe tubular line conductors. Fig. 9 is a secers or bed-rails of the tracks that the ends of 75 tion of two crossing lines of conductors, illusthe sections electrically contact, yet each sectrating their construction at the crossing to tion is independent of its neighbor, whereby permit the contact-brushes to pass by the it may be easily unshipped; to a contact- Same; and Fig. 10 is a broken plan of such roller or Wheel-brush having a spring or elas- 0 crossing conductors. tic bearing and a hinged or pivoted connec- 80 My invention has relation to electric railtion with its supporting-arm attached to the ways of that form having slotted tubular concar or train; to a car having an electric moductors for the line current or that form tor and a circuit changing or reversing switch, shown and described in an application filed which is adapted to serve also for an ordiby me on the 16th day of February, A. D. nary make-andbreak switch; to line con- 8 1884, Serial No. 122,123, which application ductors having jointed or switch sections adwas divided and formed the basis for Patents joining and connected to the trackswitch No. 305,730, dated September 23, 1884; No. rails, and to crossing lines of conductors, one 315,113, dated April 7, 1885; No. 504,549, of which is broken or mutilated, but electricdated September 5, 1893-, and No. 318,594, ally connected at the crossing. 92 dated May 26, 1885. It has for its object to In the drawings, A represents the tracks or provide a system of supports for theline 0011- line of way of an elevated or other railroad, ductors whereby they may be economically and B B the tubular conductors for the lineapplied to elevated or other railways now concurrent or that generated by any suitable structed, and any section of which conducform of dynamo-electric machine 0, located at 9 5 tors can be readily removed or displaced for a station along the line of way. Said conrepairs, substitution, or for other purposes; ductors form a closed metallic circuit for the to provide traveling roller or wheel contactgenerator and have longitudinal slots 1) arbrushes which have an inherent or automatic ranged as shown or as described in my aforevertical movementor upward pressure and are said application. These conductors are made up of pipe-sections, each end of all the sections being Screwed to or otherwise provided with brackets or supports Z). The ends of the sections preferably project through the brackets b, sothat when the latter are secured to the longitudinal track-rails a the adjoining ends of two pipe-sections will abut against each other and provide a continuous electrical contact for the conductor-sections. As a further means for insuring such continuity of contact each pair of brackets 79' throughoutthe line are electricallyconnected by a twisted wire or other suitable circuit connections. (Shown at if.) If desired, the brackets b may be insulated from the rails a by plates of rubber or other non-conducting material b The conductors B being made up of sections and each section having independent supports or brackets Z), any one of the sections is capable of being displaced for repairs or otherwise without necessitating removal of adjoining sections. Instead of securing the brackets to the rails or sleepers a, as shown more plainly in Fig. 5, they may be fastened to the guard-rail A when used as indicated in Fig. 6, or they may be attached to the cross-ties. These modes of attachment for the conductors avoid the use of separate poles or other supports for the conductors. Consequently railroads already constructed may be economically equipped with my improvements.

C indicates a car have depending arms 0 for carrying the contact-brushes D. Each of said brushes is composed of a roller or wheel (7, journalcd in the end of an upright bar (1, the lower end of which enters an opening 6 in a socket It. Said bar is loosely held in said socket by a cross-pin (Z which passes through elongated vertical side slots 6 in the socket, a play-space 6 being provided between the lower end of bar cl and the bottom of socketopeuing c to permit bar (1 to move up and down or have a vertical motion. Between the socket E and a shoulder d on bar d and surrounding the latter is a spiral spring E, the tendency of which is to raise the bar (1 and its wheel (Z or give to them an upward oroutward pressure to positively maintain electrical contact with the inner surface or here of the conductor, into which they are inserted and along which they travel. The expansive force of spring E also keeps the brush or wheel d in contact with the conductor as the car vertically vibrates. The bracket E is pivoted or loosely connected at e to its carrying-arm c, and such pivotal connection is arranged at right angles to the axis of the contact brush or wheel 01, so that during a lateral motion or swaying of the car the contact brush or wheel will also yield laterally to still keep itself in impingement with the conductors to preserve the electrical contact therewith. Such lateral movement of the brush is indicated by dotted lines 00, Fig. 3. A brush so constructed,therefore, is automatically moved or pressed upwardly or outwardly and has a lateral motion to effectually keep it in contact with its conductor under varying conditions of travel.

Upon the car is located a suitable electric motor F, which has an extended length of armature-shaft f, on each end of which is mounted a gear or pinion f. The latter meshes into driving-gear f secured to or formed, as shown, on the inner sides of the car-wheels G. The axle g of the latter and the armature-shaft are connected or braced by links g, which support'and maintain the armature-shaftf in line with axle g.

11 represents a circuit changing or reversing switch, composed of two levers h h, pivated at h and connected to an insulated handle 7L and of two pairs of contact-points or electrodes 7t and h. The pivots of the levers and the electrodes h 7L are in circuit with the field-magnets and armature of the motor and-with the contact-brushes or their arms 0, as shown, or otherwise, as desired, so that by alternately making contact with the electrodes 72. and 71," the direction of the linecircuit through the motor is changed or the poles of the latter reversed. The reversal of the poles of the motor changes the direction of rotation of its armature, which in turn reverses the direction of travel of the car. As the reversal of motion of the armature takes place slowly or against pressure and the weight of the car previously moving in an opposite direction, such motion serves as a simple and ell'ective brake for stopping the car. By moving the levers h h of switch II midway between each pair of the electrodes or out of contact with all of them the motor is cut out of the line-circuit. It will be noted, therefore, that switch H is not only a reversing-switch, but is also a common make-andbreak switch, and it, together with the motor, forms the braking mechanism for stopping the car.

In Fig. 8 I have shown my improvements applied to a railway and its branches or to a system of railways, in which case the conductor-sections B, adjacent to the switchrails A of tracks A, are connected at one end by a ball-and-socket or other swivel joint 6 and their opposite ends are free. These sections are suitably connected to the rails A as shown at m, so as to move therewith. By such construction I obtain a conductor-switch B for connecting the main-line conductors to a branch or reversely to switch the contactbrnshes from one line to another without requiring their removal 'from the conductors. The electrical continuity of the main and branch lines of conductors during such switching is maintained by means of spring or elastic conductors m m or spring-fingers m In Figs. 9 and 10 I have illustrated crosslines of conductors arranged to permit the contact-brushes of each line conductor to pass by the crossing without necessitating unship ping of same. In this case one of the lines of conductorsis-broken or sectionof the same removed at the crossing, and the crossing conductors are located one above the other. The ends of the severed conductors are electrically connected by wires n, which pass under the lower crossing conductors to be out of the way of the moving brushes. The latter in this case consists of elongated bars D, having the contact-wheels d at each end thereof, and the spring E and pivoted bar E at the center of same, so that one end of the brush will span the space between the severed conductor ends and enter one ofthe latter before leaving the other and thereby preserve the electric circuit for the car-motor. The brushes in the lower crossing tubes are as first above described. By such construction of crossing conductors and of brushes the latter are free to pass by crossing lines of conductors without requiring removal therefrom or breaking the circuit for the motors on the cars. The ends of the broken conductors at the crossing are preferably expanded, as shown at N, for guiding the contact-wheels into the conductors.

I do not confine myself to the particular construction of the spring-supported contactbrushes, the conductor, switches, and other novel features herein shown and described, as it is evident that each of them may be variously constructed Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an electric railway, the conductorsB composed of sections, with separate supporting-brackets for each said section, and connecting circuits or wires at the junction of said sections.

2. In an electric railway, the line and side or branch tracks, and switch-rails at the j unction of said line and branch tracks, main and branch slotted tubular electric conductors, and movable or switch slotted tubular conductors at the junction of the main and branch conductors and secured and moving with the track-switch rails.

3. In an electric railway, the sectional conductors, supporting-brackets therefor, circuits located in juxtaposition to the sections of the conductors, insulation for said supporting-brackets, traveling current-collectors comprising L-shaped depending bars, vertical bars provided with sockets and pivotally secured to the L shaped bar, brushes or roller-rods vertically sliding and located in the sockets of the vertical bars, springs encircling the vertical bars, and a roller pivotally secured in the top of the vertical bar.

4. In an electric railway, the sectional conductors, supporting-brackets therefor, circuits located in juxtaposition to the sections of the conductors, insulation for said supporting-brackets, traveling current-collectors comprising L-shaped depending bars, vertical bars provided with sockets and pivotally secured to the L. shaped bar, brushes or roller-rods vertically sliding and located in the sockets of the vertical bars, springs encircling the vertical bars, and a roller pivotally secured to the top of the vertical bar, brackets 19 secured to the track-rails, the ends of the sectional conductors projecting through said bracket, whereby the conductorsections abut against each other and form a continuous electrical contact for the conductor-sections. v

5. In an electric railway, the sectional conductors, supporting-brackets therefor, cir"' cuits located in juxtaposition to the sections of the conductors, insulation for said supporting-brackets, traveling current-collectors comprising L-shaped depending bars, vertical bars provided with sockets and pivotally secured to the L-shaped bar, brushes or rollerrods vertically sliding and located in. the sockets of the vertical bars, springs encircling the vertical bars, and a roller pivotally secured in the top of the vertical bar, brackets b secured to the track-rails, the ends of the sectional conductors projecting through brackets, of the independently-s npported sectional conductors, whereby any one of the sections may be removed without removing the other or adjoining section.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENSON BIDW'ELL.

Witnesses SAML. O. MILLS, S. J. VAN S'rAvoREN. 

